The Impact of Climate Change on Agricultural Risks Among Cotton Farmers in the Mutoko District of Zimbabwe
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47540/ijsei.v4i1.720Keywords:
Agricultural Profitability, Agricultural Risk, Climate Change, Cotton FarmingAbstract
Scientists and policymakers are concerned about the effects of climate change on agricultural productivity and the well-being of farmers around the world. Alterations in the amount of precipitation and temperature have a direct influence on crop yields, although a rise in the prevalence of diseases and pests has a secondary but nevertheless important influence. The degree to which farmers believe climate change poses a threat to their agricultural operations is a decisive factor in determining whether or not they will make adjustments to their practices. This study assesses the impact of climate change on agricultural risks among cotton farmers in rural Zimbabwe. Thirteen (13) cotton farmers and employees of a company that buys and sells cotton were interviewed using a qualitative methodology. The study found that the cotton-growing industry has significantly incurred losses due to both the effects of climate change and the broader economic downturn. Several reasons related to Zimbabwe's economic collapse have contributed to the problem facing the nation's rural cotton farmers.
Downloads
References
Adebayo, A. A., Mubi, A. M., Zemba, A. A. & Umar, A. S. (2013). Awareness of Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation in Adamawa State, Nigeria. International Journal of Environment, Ecology, Family and Urban Studies, 3(1), 11–18.
Ajzen, I., (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. 50 (2), 179-211.
Alfonso, G.P. & Laruan, K.A. (2020). Climate change trends, impacts and adaptation of upland farmers in La Trinidad, Benguet, Philippines. International Journal Agronomy and Agricultural Researches, 17(1), 1-15.
Arbuckle JG, Morton LW, Hobbs J (2013) Farmer beliefs and concerns about climate change and attitudes toward adaptation and mitigation. Climate Change, 118 (1), 551-563.
Bakuwa, J. (2015). Public understanding of global climate change in Malawi: An investigation of factors influencing perceptions, attitudes and beliefs about global climate change. PhD thesis. Stellenbosch University.
Berlemann, M., & Steinhardt, M.F. (2017). Climate change, natural disasters, and migration-a survey of the empirical evidence. CESifo Economic Studies. 63 (4), 353–385.
Braun, V. & Clarke, V., (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3 (1), 77-101.
Bryman, A. (2012). Social Science Research Methods, 4th edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Brzoska, M., & Frohlich, C. (2016). Climate change, migration and violent conflict: vulnerabilities, pathways and adaptation strategies. Migration and Development. 5 (2), 190–210.
Capstick, S. B. & Pidgeon, N. F. (2014). Public perception of cold weather events as evidence for and against climate change. Climatic change, 122 (1), 695-708.
Chandra, A., McNamara, K. E., Dargusch, P., Caspe, A. M. & Dalabajan, D. (2017). Gendered vulnerabilities of smallholder farmers to climate change in conflict-prone areas: A case study from Mindanao, Philippines. Journal of Rural Studies, 50, 45–59.
Chapagain, P. S., Ghimire, M. & Shrestha, S. (2019). Status of natural springs in the Melamchi region of the Nepal Himalayas in the context of climate change. Environment, Development, and Sustainability, 21(1), 263– 280.
Christensen, J., Hewitson, B., Busuioc, A., Chen, A., Gao, X., Held, I., et al. 2007. Regional Climate Projections. In S. Solomon, D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K. Averyt, et al. (Eds.), Climate Change (2007): The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.
Di Falco, S., Veronesi, M. & Yesuf, M. (2011). Does adaptation to climate change provide food security? A micro-perspective from Ethiopia. American Journal of Agricultural Economics.
Diggs, D.M. (1991). Drought Experience and Perception of Climatic Change among Great Plains Farmers. Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences, 1 (1) 113-132.
Dinar, A & Mendelsohn, R., (2011). Climate change impacts on African agriculture. Center for Environmental Economics and Policy in Africa. Centre for Environmental Economics and Policy in Africa, Pretoria (CEEPA).
Dorji, Y., Man Rai, C., & Nidup, T. (2021). Climate Change Awareness among the Teachers of Higher Secondary Schools. Asian Research Journal of Arts & Social Sciences, 15(4), 12–22.
Egan, P. J. & Mullin, M. (2012). Turning personal experience into political attitudes: The effect of local weather on Americans’ perceptions about global warming. The Journal of Politics, 74 (3), 796-809.
Esham, M & Garforth, C. (2013). Agricultural adaptation to climate change: insights from a farming community in Sri Lanka, Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, 18(5), 535-549.
Gbetibouo, G.A. (2006). Understanding farmers’ perceptions and adaptations to climate change and variability. The case of the Limpopo Basin, South Africa. International Food Policy Research Institute Research Brief, Washington DC., USA.
Gomez, N. (2015). Climate change and adaptation on selected crops in Southern Philippines. International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, 7(3), 290–305.
Hassan, R. (2010). Implications of climate change for agricultural sector performance in Africa: policy challenges and research agenda. Journal of African Economies, 19 (1), 77-105.
Hsiang, S., (2016). Climate econometrics. Annual Review of Resource Economics. 8, 43–75.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (ICCP). (2013). Climate Change 2013. Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (2007). Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I II and III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Geneva, Switzerland.
Jessoe, K., Manning, D., Taylor, & E.J. (2018). Climate change and labour allocation in rural Mexico: evidence from annual fluctuations in weather. Journal of Economics (608), 230–261.
Laube, W., Schraven, B. & Awo, M. (2012). Smallholder Adaptation to Climate Change: Dynamics and Limits in Northern Ghana. Climatic Change, 111, 753774.
Lindsey, R., & LuAnn, D. (2021). Climate Change: Global Temperature. NOAA Climate.gov's Science and Information for a Climate-Smart Nation.
Mendelsohn, R., Dinar, A & Williams, L. (2006). The distributional impact of climate change on rich and poor countries. Environmental Development and Economics. 11 (1), 1–20.
Molua, E. L. (2008). Turning up the heat on African agriculture: The impact of climate change on Cameroon’s agriculture. African Journal of Agricultural Resource Economics, 2 (1), 45 - 64.
Mugambiwa, S. S. (2021). Evoking the epistemology of climate governance through indigenous knowledge systems for sustainable development in rural Zimbabwe. Jàmbá: Journal of Disaster Risk Studies 13(1), a1024.
Mugambiwa, S.S. & Tirivangasi, H.M., (2017). ‘Climate change: A threat towards achieving “Sustainable Development Goal number two” (end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture) in South Africa’, Jàmbá: Journal of Disaster Risk Studies, 9(1).
Mukherjee, N., Zabala, A., Huge, J., Ochieng, J., Blal, N., Esmail, N & Sutherland, W. J. (2018). Comparison of techniques for eliciting views and judgements in decision‐making. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 9 (1), 54-63.
Ngigi, S. N. (2009). Climate Change Adaptation Strategies: Water Resources Management Options for Smallholder Farming Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. New York: The MDG Centre.
Nhamo, G. (2009). Climate change: Double-edged sword for African trade and development, International Journal of African Renaissance Studies - Multi-, Inter- and Transdisciplinarity. 4 (2), 117-139.
Niles, M.T., Lubell, M & Haden, V.R. (2013). Perceptions and responses to climate policy risks among California farmers. Global Environmental Change, 23 (1), 1752-1760.
Noah, N. M. (2015). Living with climate variability and change: lessons from Tanzania. PhD Thesis. University of the Witwatersrand.
Nyahunda, L., & Tirivangasi, H. M. (2020). Barriers to Effective Climate Change Management in Zimbabwe’s Rural Communities. African Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation, 1-27.
Nyahunda, L., & Tirivangasi, H. M. (2021). Harnessing of Social Capital as a Determinant for Climate Change Adaptation in Mazungunye Communal Lands in Bikita, Zimbabwe. Scientifica, 2021.
Oseni, S. & Bebe, O. (2010). Climate change, genetics of adaptation and livestock production in low input systems. 2nd International Conference: Climate, Sustainability and Development in Semi-arid Regions, August 16-20, 2010, Fortaleza – Ceará, Brazil.
Sahoo, S.N., & Sreeja, P. (2017). Development of Flood Inundation Maps and Quantification of Flood Risk in an Urban Catchment of Brahmaputra River, ASCEASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems, Part A: Civil Engineering, 3(1).
Suckalla, N., Fraserb, E. & Forsterc, P. (2016). Reduced migration under climate change: evidence from Malawi using an aspirations and capabilities framework. Climate and Development. 8(1), 1-14.
UNFCCC. (2007). Climate change: impacts, vulnerabilities and adaptation in developing countries. Bonn, Germany: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2023 Mugambiwa S. Shingirai, Leonard Chitongo

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.